• Our APA sample paper shows you how to format the main parts of a basic research paper. Template Download this Word document, fill out the title page and get writing!
• APA Resources, APA Information, APA Editorial Style, APA Paper Templates, APA: Good Habits, APA Use of Sources: References Page, APA Beginning Formatting College of Arts and Sciences AS-Logo-240×90 SSC-Logo-184×92.

Producing great writing requires adherence to citation styles such as APA, MLA, CMS, and Turabian. Each citation style provides clear and comprehensive guidelines for how to produce different kinds of work. Mainly, the guides explain how to cite outside sources. When working with sources you must give credit to the author. How you give credit is determined by the formal rules set forth by each style publisher.

Ultius has robust and comprehensive style guides for each major style you will come across. The main ones are listed below.

Major citation styles

APA style paper. Writing a research or term paper? Use this APA style report template to get started, with styles formatted to match APA guidelines and sample content to show how it all goes together. This is an accessible template. A complete solution for typing APA and MLA papers. Our software makes starting papers quick and easy. Managing references or works cited lists is easy and manageble. Features include: Quickly and easily download and install everything you need for a perfectly formatted in APA style paper or MLA style paper.

Modern Language Association (MLA) Style

The current version of MLA is the 8th edition and this style is mainly used for English, literature, and non-technical disciplines.

American Psychological Association (APA) Style

The current version of APA guide is the 6th edition and this style is mainly used for the field of psychology. Most scientific subjects have also adopted APA as the standard style guide because of its flexibility with handling resources like table data and images.

Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)

CMS is the standard for many humanities subjects and is very similar to Turabian style. It's in the 16th edition and includes very specific guidelines for footer citations and the bibliography.

Kate L. Turabian's Style

The Turabian style guide is similar to Chicago style, but with a few minor differences. It's currently in the 9th edition and is common for the subjects in the humanities. Humanities subjects include history, anthropology, and the like.

Citation style downloads, samples, and guides

Download free citation style resources. The original style manuals are useful for finding obscure and technical answers that aren't easily summarized. These manuals are long and subject to copyright by the publisher. Samples show you how the style guide works in real-time. The templates allow you to download your own copy so that you can start with a pre-formatted blank slate.

Before downloading and using the guides please read the copyright information to avoid infringing on the works of others.

Downloads for MLA, APA, CMS, and Turabian styles

* External works are subject to copyright by the respective owners. Please use these resources at your own risk.

Editable APA Template

• APA 7th edition student sample paper To use this as a template, open the document with Word and replace the text with your own, but keep the formatting.

General APA Rules

Rules for All APA Papers:

• Margins: 1'
• Recommended font: 12-point Times New Roman, or 11-point Calibri, Arial or Georgia; or 10-point Lucida sans Unicode or Computer Modern
• Line Spacing: Double
  • Make sure that there is no extra space after each paragraph (Microsoft Word defaults to including one. Fix this by: highlighting your entire paper, clicking the line spacing button, then selecting 'Don't add space between paragraphs of the same style' or making the Spacing After = 0.

• Page numbers on all pages at the top right. Click in the header to insert the page numbers, top of page, plain number 3. The font should match the rest of your paper.

  This is what it looks like inserting page number in Word online vs the desktop version.

  Word Online

  Desktop version of Word

Sections of an APA Paper

Free Apa Format Reference Template

• Title Page - check with your instructor if they are requiring a title page
• Text of your paper
• References
• Appendices - check with your instructor to see if they want you to include appendices

Major Sections of Your Paper

Title Page

If a title page is required for your assignment, follow these steps:

1. Place your cursor at the top of the first page Hit Enter on the keyboard 4 times
2. Type your title's paper using these rules:
   1. Capitalize the first letter of all important words (but not words like a, the, of, etc.)
   2. Title may be up to 2 lines (Main Title on First Line: Subtitle on Second)
   3. Title should be no more than 12 words
   4. Title should contain no abbreviations (spell out United States of America instead of using U.S.A.)
   5. Title should contain no unnecessary words
   6. Title font should be bold, and centered on page
3. Press ENTER twice, then type your full name (with middle initial if you want to include it)
4. Press ENTER, then type Central Penn College
5. Press ENTER, then type the course name and number this assignment is for
6. Press ENTER, type the Instructor's name - check with them for their preferred form
7. Press ENTER, type the due date in month, date, year format

First Page of Your Essay

1. Type the title of your paper as it appears on the title page - bold font, title case, and centered

2. On the first line of your paragraph, click the left align button to move your cursor back to the left margin

Apa Style Templates

3. Begin writing your paper. Once you have a few lines done, highlight the lines you've written (do NOT include the title), then click the Paragraph Formatting button

4. Under Indentation: Special, choose First Line. The default indentation is 0.5', which is correct

References Page

Your References should begin at the top of a new page immediately after your essay has ended.

1. Type in bold font and center the title: References

2. Press enter, then select the left align button to move your cursor to the left margin

3. Write (or paste) all of your citations. Each citation should begin on a new line. Double line spacing, like the rest of your paper. Do not add any extra spaces between citations.

4. Highlight all of your citations, then click the Sort button in the Paragraph section of the menu. The defaults are correct to sort alphabetically. Click OK. [The sort option is not available in Word online, open your document in the desktop app or manually copy and paste your citations in alphabetical order.]

5. Highlight all of your citations, then select Paragraph options. Under Indentation: Special, select Hanging. The default setting is 0.5', which is correct. Click OK.

• Last Updated:Jan 19, 2021 8:05 AM
• URL:https://guides.centralpenn.edu/APA7th